Eailkoad-car



A. MJ SMITH.

Car Seat and Couch.

No. 13,471. Patented Aug. 21, 1855.

Witnesses:

UNITED STATES AENT OFFICE.

ALBERT M. SMITH, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

RAILROAD-CAR SEAT.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 13,471, dated August 21, 1855.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, ALBERT M. SMITH, of the city of Rochester, county of Monroe, State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement on Car-Seats; and I do declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, as shown in the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, of Which Figures 1, and 2, are perspective views; Fig. 3, a descriptive view; Fig. 5, a transverse section; Figs. 4, 6, and 7, sectional views.

The nature of my invention consists in the constructing a car seat so that the whole back of sufiicient width and shape best adapted to support the body of a person for day riding if changed to either side of the seat to ride either way, can be reversed the outside inside, thereby and at the same time raised high enough to support the head and body for night riding equally well, making a seat that is equally well adapted to either day or night riding at a trifling expense; as the same seats now in use can be used and still afford as good and easy a seat for night as any exclusively for that purpose.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

I construct or use the seat usually, except the supporters, looks, or catches to connect back to supporters, manner of operating catches, and arrangement of cushion, the same that is in general use, therefore do not claim them, but do claim those necessary to operate the seat as desired and claimed or described. First I insert two looks or catches or their equivalents to each end of the back as shown at Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, A, A, A, A, A, A, A, which I generally make by making metal boxes, as at f, Fig. 4; with a thread on it, as at, b, b, to screw into the back or any way to hold it in, and fit into it a bolt or piece hav ing a head, as at, c, c, Fig. 4, and at the other end a head to fasten the connection to, as at, cl, cl, and from this made smaller about one half its length as atg suflicient to put in a spring, usually spiral, as at 6, but of rubber, gutta-percha, steel or their equivalent between this and the flange turned in on inside of box, as at f, or any similar way, so that they can be connected or disconnected to the supporters. In the supporters, B, B, B, B, B, and D, Figs. 1, 2, and 5, I cut slots, as at, h, h, h, h, Fig. 5, to receive the catches inserted in the ends of the back, one half being cut straight through the size of head toward each end, as at 2' z 2' 2', and the other half way through the same size, the rest smaller, as at 7c,'k, 7c, is, the size of body of catch, so that the back when it is one'side of the seat slides down far enough so that the upper catches, A, A, Fig. 1 catch on the small part of slot 7c 70, B, Fig. 5, and 70 70, Fig. 1, leaving the heads of the lower catches in the large part of the slot, as at 2' i i 2', B, Fig. 5, and 1, i, 2', so that they can be disconnected from the supporters by passing out of the gain cut in it, as seen at J J, D, Fig. 5, then on each end they are made so that when the back is reversed the upper catches rest on them as at m, m, m, m, then I make a rim on the edge of the slot 72, as at, 1 r, a", r, so that the plate S, Fig. 3, attached to the end, of back for supporters to wear against are out out, as at o, 4), so that when the back is being reversed it slides around the rim 2 and keeps it from being disconnected from supporters; also these supporters can be made having slots as at Y Y, Fig. 6, for screws or bolts put in back and slots in ends, as at u a, for catches with or without heads, or make them at the ends so that they will spring and slots as at Fig. 5, or, 6

To raise and adjust the back for a night or head rest, I attach a cord or its equivalent to the catches, to be operated from the center or ends or under or over the cushion, or by making a knob attached to them and by that move them, or by rounding off the corner of slots J J, Fig. 5, toward the gain in supporters, so that the catches when in will bear on the edge hard enough to keep the back in place when being changed, but so that by pushing back hard on the top edge of low, back, Fig. 1 they are thrown back far enough to allow them to pass out and reverse the back or any method equivalent to this. This leaves the back free to adjust itself to the position a person sits in by their pressing against it to rest; but to make the thing more complete I attach a cord to them, as at, d, cl, d, d, Fig. 3, and running it under the pulleys, as at, n, 'n, n, n, and out through the outside of the cushion and there connected together, as at, E, E,

E, E, Figs. 1, and 3, so that by taking hold of it, as Would be natural to reverse the back, it at the same time pulls the catches i, z, z, i, Fig. 2 and Fig. 1 in and disconnects them from the supporters and allows them to pass With the back turning on the upper catches remaining 70, 74, 7a, 76, connected over to the ends of supporters, as at, m, m, Fig. 2, Which they rest against and support it, leaving the back reversed, the hollowing side in toward the seat, as at Fig. 2, Which affords a rest and conformity of shape to the body and head.

The cushion C, Fig. 7 is made rounding on the bottom, as at, P, and pieces of rubber are put on each end so that there is a gentle friction enough to keep it in place, but not enough so but that the back in being reversed shoves it forward, and thereby inclines it just enough to make it easy for a high back that it is When back level for low, making in all together a very cheap, simple and easy car seat for both day and night combined in one, taking no more room and costing but little more than the common car-seat and not equaled by any for comfort.

I do not claim the form or shape of the back or seat part of the car seat as they are in common use; but

I do claim The constructing and arranging of the car seat, so that the Whole back of suflicient Width and shape, best adapted to support the body of a person for day riding, it changed either side of the seat, to ride either Way, can be reversed the outside turned inside thereby and at the same time raised high enough to support the head, and body equally Well for night riding by means of and in combination With the different devices or their equivalents necessary for the purpose as described substantially as herein set forth.

ALBERT M. SMITH. a s.]

Witnesses:

THEo. SHELDON, JOHN WEDZIE. 

